National Art Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

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At the National Gallery of Canada is the world´s largest Canadian collection of art. What I didn´t know, but read up on later, is that 1.200 art works are distplayed on rotation, so that every time you visit you see different work of art.

Here are iconic pieces by Tom Thomson on display.

Then there are special exhibitons, and when I visited there was a Van Gogh Up close exhibition. I visited on a Thursday afternoon, when there is free admittance, but people were lined up for the Van Gogh exhibition, which one had to buy tickets for.

Photos of the galleries are not allowed - and there is a very small sign on the doors leading to the galleries. I entered with a group of people and didn´t see the sign. So I took some photos. And I was of course approached by a very shocked guard. I kept running into him during my visit of the Gallery and he sent me the evil eye. PUT UP A BIGGER SIGN! There are many galleries which allow photos. I would not visit this gallery again, there were so many guards there that it felt like we weren´t visitors there, but had come to do some harm, sorry to say this as this is not how I feel about Canadians - quite the opposite counts.

The building was designed by Moshe Safdie.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 10:00-17:00, Thursday: 10:00-20:00 - on Thursdays there is free entrance from 17:00-20:00.

Entrance fee: CAD 9 for adults.

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The National Gallery of Canada is arguably the best art gallery in Canada and certainly one of the most important galleries in all of North America. Naturally Canadian art is well represented with David Milne, Emily Carr, Tom Thomson and the Group Of Seven being exhibited in strength. However what for me makes the National Gallery superior to the other galleries in Canada is the strong Modern Collection. Artist like Klee, Klimt, Leger, and Braque are well represented here with some of their best works. On the day I last visited the The National Gallery of Canada it was attacked by a giant spider. Actually this is a cool spider that is located near the entrance.

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The National Gallery of Canada designed by architect Safdie and opened in 1988 it is the home of Canada's exceptional art collection.

1 May to 30 Sept.: Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, to 8 pm on Thursday

1 Oct. to 30 Apr.: Open Wednesday from 10 am to 5 pm, to 8 pm on Thursday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Exceptions: Open Thanksgiving Monday, Remembrance Day starting at noon, 26-31 Dec., during the March Break (Ontario and Quebec), and Easter Monday. Closed 25 Dec., 1st Jan. and Good Friday.

Pictures inside are not allowed.

Permanent collection: Adults $9, Seniors and students $7, Youths (12-19 years) $4, Family (2 adults, 3 youths) $18.

Oct. 1 to Apr. 30, English and French tours are offered Wednesday to Sunday at 2 pm, and at 11 am and 2 pm from May 1 to Sept. 30.

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If you are an art lover visit the National Art Gallery.

You cannot miss this modern looking building.

Opening hours:
HOURS
May 1 – September 30
Daily: 10AM - 5PM (Thursday to 8PM)

October 1 – April 30
Tu-Su: 10AM - 5PM (Thursday to 8PM)

Admission: Adults CAD 9.00

Special Exhibitions: CAD 15.00

Parking
Situated on-site, the National Gallery's underground parking garage; CADS 2.50 per half-hour, up to a maximum daily charge of CAD 12.00.

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The maman or the big spider sculpture is becoming one of Ottawa's newest landmarks.

If you suffer from aragnaphobia this is a place to avoid; if not, tour around the sculture made by Louise Bourgeois.

The spider measures 9.27 metre (30-foot), weighs 8,165 kg (or 18,000 lbs) and carries a sac of 20 pure white marble eggs under her belly.

This sculpture is a bronze cast of the stainless steel version that is exhibit at the Tate Modern in London London

Other bronze copies can be found at:
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri USA
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain
Mori Art Museum, Roppongi, Tokyo
Samsung Museum of Modern Art (Leeum), Seoul, South Korea
Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
Havana, Cuba
Hirshhorn Gallery and Sculpture Garden Washington, D.C. USA
Des Moines, Iowa USA

It is located at the side of the The National Gallery.

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Canada's National Art Gallery here in Ottawa takes great pride in its status as the custodian of the nation's art treasures and the modern gallery built to house them certainly is an impressive edifice. The concrete and glass structure occupies 3 floors and was officially opened on 21st May 1988

The permanent collection occupies about 40 exhibition rooms on the 1st and 2nd floors with most of the 1st floor dedicated to Canadian works arranged relatively chronologically beginning with early Aboriginal art. Also on level 1 is the area dedicated to special exhibitions from all over the world as well as to showcase those assembled within Canada for export tours.

Level 2 holds exhibits of pretty much everything else the Gallery has amassed over its century and a quarter or so of existence. There is a room dedicated to Asian works, several rooms exemplifying various stages in the development of European mainstream art, including some significant impresionists, and a couple of rooms containing contemporary pieces.

Opening times vary slightly between summer and winter, admission to the permanent collection is (as of Jan 2009) $9, with supplements for the special exhibitions but as with most of the other Ottawa Museums and Galleries admission is free after 5 pm on Thursdays when the gallery also remains open until 8 pm.

Website below has all the other info required.

This is a museum that you should visit even if you are not a follower of the Arts. The building is worth the visit, the art is a bonus. From the grounds you also obtain beautiful views of the river and city.

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Canada's National Gallery occupies a prominent location, at the foot of Sussex Drive, down the hill from the Chateau Laurier and overlooking the magnificent Ottawa River. Architect Moshe Safdie took full advantage of the site in designing an imaginative yet functional structure that manages to create a sense of celebration, while at the same time displaying the treasures inside to their best advantage.

If you are interested the "Group of Seven" (and friends!) - those early twentieth century Canadian landscape painters who turned their gaze to the magnificent scrublands and forests of the north - the National Gallery may enthrall you as much as it did me.

The National Gallery of Canada was founded in 1880 and as one of the country’s greatest art galleries, it offers visitors an impressive permanent collection of Canadian art as well as different international art exhibitions. You can visit the gallery on your own, join a tour group or get an audio guide (check out the NGC’s Website to find out about upcoming events and exhibitions).

It is open everyday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with late nights on Thursdays (closes at 8:00 pm). Regular fare to access the permanent collection is $9 for adults, while tickets for special exhibitions (also includes the permanent collection) are around $15 for adults. Also, don't miss Louise Bourgeois's bronze sculpture "Maman", a giant 30-foot-tall spider located in front of the gallery's entrance.

The Art Museum or National Gallery of Canada is another building worth checking out while in Ottawa. If you are not big into museums, at least stop by in front and take some pictures of the building. The building was designed by Moshe Safdie (known for the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Montreal) and it looks like a crystal palace overlooking the Ottawa River. The glass roof has a pyramidal shape.
If you go inside, take a look down from the central atrium balcony. You will be enchanted to discover a garden of triangular flower beds and a grove of trees that repeat the lines of the pyramidal glass roof.